Approximately 300,000 sports related concussions and 3.8 million traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur annually in the United States. Trauma to the head and neck caused by forces from collisions can lead to a wide range of catastrophic and sometimes fatal injuries. Depending upon the strength, angle and duration of these forces, the impact can cause a wide array of serious head and spine injury along the entire length of the spine, resulting, in some cases, in complete quadriplegia, and even in death.
These injuries in contact sports and other impact activities are attributed to the deficient design of the conventional helmet. For example, the conventional American football helmet has a polycarbonate shell with padding inside the shell and a face mask attached to the front of the helmet. A chin strap secures the helmet to the player's head. For additional protection, shoulder pads that function independently of the helmet are worn to protect the player's shoulders from a collision. During certain collisions between opposing players, however, the player's head stops abruptly while the shoulders and the rest of the body keep moving, thus causing the neck to buckle from excessive axial loading and compression.
Additional pads, such as cervical collars, neck rolls, etc. may be worn in an attempt to provide additional protection to the head and neck area. The additional padding, however, does not address the underlying problem of axial loading transmitted from the head to the cervical spine. In addition, the additional padding restricts the movement of the player's head thereby limiting the player's performance.